Worry Wart – Who Me?
It was Thursday, June 22, 2017. I checked weather.com for the 10-day forecast. Rain. Rain. More rain. Virtually every day carried a prediction of 100 percent chance of rain. And for Saturday, July 1, there was a 100 percent chance of rain. But who was worried? Not me! Weather.com is wrong as much as it is right. And so I reassured my daughter, Lyndsay, who had chosen an outdoor wedding ceremony and reception on July 1.
Everyone involved in the wedding seemed to have the weather tab open on their computer or phone every moment of that week. Did it ever change? No. Not ever. Friday. Saturday. Sunday. Monday. Tuesday. Every single day the forecast was the same. One hundred percent chance of rain. But who was worried? Not me!
Wednesday, June 28, we traveled from our home in Ohio to Pittsburgh where the wedding was to take place. The wedding was three days away. We met Lyndsay and her fiancé, Joseph, and could tell something was terribly wrong. Had they had an awful fight? No. What was it? They were totally stressed – 100 percent chance of rain on their outdoor wedding! Who was worried? They were.
With a calm that seldom typifies me, I said to both of them, “Is there anything you can do to make the rain go away? We serve the God of the universe! If He wants it to rain, IT WILL RAIN! If He doesn’t want it to rain, IT WON’T RAIN! He loves us and He will do what is best. So don’t make yourself sick. We have a rain plan, and on Saturday morning we will decide if we need to implement it or not.” Who was worried? Still not me.
Lamentations 3:37 has been a favorite of mine for years. (Actually, most of that chapter has been a favorite. Those pages of my Bible are well worn, like a comfortable pair of well-loved jeans.) “Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?”
Wedding day dawned. A few of us were at the site of the ceremony and reception that morning when the skies opened and it down-poured. Over two inches of rain in 45 minutes. Wow! And then it stopped. And the clouds dissipated. And the sun came out. And a gentle breeze began to dry the ground and picnic shelter.
“Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, ‘The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for Him.’ The LORD is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” Lamentations 3:22-26
Would the Lord have been good if it had rained that day? Of course. Would Lyndsay and Joseph have survived (like hundreds of others) if it rained on their outdoor wedding? Definitely. Those are the easy questions.
Here is the hard question. Why can’t I apply that same level of trust to other areas of my life?
In other situations, who is worried? ME! But the same God Who decided that a rain-free wedding was best for Lyndsay and Joseph is able to do what is best for me in my situation. And for you in yours.
We need to talk to Him. Then wait and trust. Trust in the God we love and serve, the God of the universe.
As I do, remind yourself as often as you need to, “Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it?” (Lam 3:37)
